July 27, 2013. Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Noel Dowler and the #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge returned from the Western swing of the NASCAR Canadian Tire series looking for another solid result in round number seven of the year at the Autodrome St. Eustache. It was a long difficult event but persistence was rewarded as Dowler claimed another top ten finishing result.
Because of the hard- nosed racing that is common at St. Eustache the #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge team chose to bring a back-up car instead of their primary oval racer.
“This place has shown to be very tough on cars with lots of fiberglass flying so that’s why we made the call” explained Dowler.
Working hard to dial in the car during the afternoon practice sessions proved to be a challenge and Dowler would line up 18th for the 250 lap feature. The car continued to be a handful in the early going of the race.
“We thought it would be a bit of a struggle with this car on this flat track but it was even tougher than we expected” said Dowler.
During the first caution period Dowler brought the #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge to pit road for some significant handling adjustments.
“We really didn’t have anything to lose so we just took our time and threw a bunch of changes at the car and got back into the fight” said the driver.
Throughout the night there were small improvements but the #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge just wasn’t as strong as had been hoped.
“It would have been easy for us just to park it and say it wasn’t our night but that’s not how this team works. The guys kept adjusting on the car every chance we had, they threw tires on it and I just drove as hard as I could” said Dowler.
At the end of the night their fierce effort would be rewarded with a top ten finish.
“I really think this was a hard earned top ten” said Dowler afterwards. “What a job these guys did and I hope they’re as proud of their hard work as I am of the job they did. To gut out a top ten like that is really an accomplishment”
After seven events Noel Dowler is up to eighth in the championship standings, just five points from seventh position.
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series consists of 12 events from coast to coast in Canada. The next event takes place August 11 at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres in Trois-Rivieres, QC. For more information about Noel Dowler and the #5 EMCO Dodge/Rheem team log onto www.apollomotorsports.ca and follow him on twitter, @noeldowler.
This release prepared by: TL Sports & Entertainment, todd@tlsportsent.com (239) 961-2618
{fcomment}
Discussion about this post